


Remembrance

by YoshisGallery



Category: Street Fighter
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 15:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21200159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoshisGallery/pseuds/YoshisGallery
Summary: At his best friend Ken's wedding, Ryu wistfully recalls the day they met.





	Remembrance

A lazy spring breeze, thick with the sweet musk of blooming orange blossoms mixed with a slight tinge of salty sea air, flowed with a rustling through the neatly-pruned trees of the large garden. Little dapples of liquid sunshine, breaking through the tall, rounded trees, splashed down on the old brick pathways and intermittent patches of garden-hose green grass to the sides. White wooden garden chairs stood tidily arranged in rows on the brick, still empty but almost tangibly anticipating the people that would very soon be occupying them. Nearly identical gold painted woven baskets brimming with the shining faces of brilliant white and canary yellow flowers lined the center aisle, leading up towards a small white altar. Only the sound of the meandering breeze and the occasional calls of songbirds in the distance punctuated the silent garden.

Empty and tranquil, the frozen scene soon gave way to a bustle of activity as groups of people, dressed in carefully pressed dresses and suits accented by yellow and white carnations and chatting intermittently with hushed excitement, slowly trickled in and sat in arranged seats facing the altar. After a while, once everyone was seated and the conversation ebbed, the perfect sound of humming strings emanated from the side of the garden, where four people dressed in black sat, pulling bows across the taut strings of their instruments: a violin, a viola, a cello and a bass, all singing out a canon in wordless harmony.

At the front of the garden stood eight people: at the center, behind the altar and dressed in a white gown, a venerable looking, bespectacled older man holding a small black book; to the left, three young women in matching canary yellow gowns, a tall thin one with dark blonde hair, a petite Asian with her hair in yellow-wrapped buns, and a stocky brunette, all holding fresh bouquets of yellow and white carnations; to the right, three men in matching black tuxedos with canary yellow cummerbunds, a short Asian man with spiky brown hair at the far right, a tall blonde Spaniard with a controlled smirk in the center, and a tall, strong, pale Japanese man with short brown-black hair and a look of quiet solitude in his dark eyes, which were trained on the eighth person: a gracefully handsome man with long, flowing golden hair held back loosely with a small hair tie, a strong, solid physique evident even through his tuxedo, and a look of untroubled content in his shining green eyes.

A ninth figure dressed in a voluminous white dress made its way rhythmically towards the blonde man in time with the music, a long, pearl white train following behind and shimmering with each patch of light that graced it. As the older man at the altar began to speak, the Japanese man continued to look towards the blonde, his eyes gradually losing focus as his eyes threatened to well up wetly with emotions he had long since tried to bury.

***

"Ryu!"

The word carried its way through the warm spring air, laced with the light, sweet aroma of cherry blossoms, eventually finding the young Japanese boy sitting on the edge of a dock overlooking a small lake. The boy, dressed in a simple white sleeveless gi with a black belt, looked up from the pond where he had been poking at shiny orange fish with a mossy stick, up the hill towards the dojo. It was indeed Sensei's voice, proven by the figure of a tall, older man standing with his arms on his hips at the top of the hill, the form of the large, ragged mountains towering behind him.

"Come here, Ryu!"

Ryu stood quickly and ran up the hill, his bare feet padding over the hard, dry dirt. Afternoon training was due to start soon, but Ryu had thought he still had a little while to himself. He enjoyed spending free time in between his training lessons contemplating the serenity of the rippling water and the sunlight glinting off the backs of the fish and coloring the high, thin clouds a warm cadmium yellow at the same time. Ryu would rather spend his time in solitude than with the other boys, who would play games of skill and mock fighting during their free time. He wasn't unwelcome with the others, even though he was obviously a superior fighter who often beat boys much his senior, he just preferred to spend time alone... it felt better to be alone than with those who don't really think or understand things the same way.

Oh well, he thought. So much for contemplation today.

As he crested the hill to where Sensei was standing, he noticed that Sensei wasn't there alone. Ryu had subconsciously noticed the second figure earlier, but had assumed it was just one of the other boys. It turned out to be a boy, but one Ryu had never seen before: a tanned, bright-eyed American with long, flowing golden hair and a smile that betrayed both eagerness and uncertainty.

"Ryu, I want you to meet Ken. He is to be your new training partner." Sensei swooped his hand slowly towards Ken, who stepped forward with little hesitation and smiled bigger, sticking his hand out for Ryu.

Ryu's brow furrowed and he looked at Ken with his head slightly turned, ignoring the hand. "Sensei... I don't need a partner. I am too good for a partner, especially a gaijin."

Sensei's face, shaded by a wide-brimmed straw hat, darkened. "Ryu, you are a good fighter for your age, but you still have much to learn. Ken here has trained in our style and his skills parallel your own. Now apologize."

Ken's expression never faltered, even though he lowered his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ryu. I'm Ken!" Ryu's eyes, lowered after the scolding from Sensei, raised up to meet Ken's and found an unexpected warm friendliness there. Even though he knew having a partner in training would only impede him, Ryu's brief moment of feeling threatened faded.

After a moment, he nodded at Ken, still not smiling but no longer scowling.

"Please show Ken around the grounds and where your room is," Sensei said in a tone that left no doubt that the request was indeed a command.

"We're bunking together," Ken said, still smiling.

Ryu looked back down at the ground, stifling what he knew would be a fruitless protest. He'd finally earned his own small room, and had only had it for a few weeks to himself. Now he had to share some of his precious solitude with a boy he didn't even know.

Sensei departed in his usual undetectable way. Ken and Ryu stood facing each other about five feet apart, standing silent, looking at each other: one with a look of suspicion betrayed by a slight wonder, and the other a look of unmasked, open friendliness. The wind blew by and circled the two motionless figures, and then calmed, leaving only the sound of laughter from a distant game of skill. The summer midday sunlight was slowly turning into the yellow hues of afternoon.

Finally, Ken stuck out his hand again, slowly but without hesitation. After a moment of contemplation, Ryu's expression finally softened. He stepped forward and took Ken's hand, and the stood looking at each other, holding their hands in a firm embrace. Ryu finally had to smile, which made Ken smile even wider. Something about Ken felt good, like he could be someone that could understand and think the way Ryu did. Ryu needed a true friend like that, and somehow knew he'd found it. "Do you want to see the lake first? It's my favorite place to sit and watch the sun."

"I do," Ken said, and they both skipped down the hill, still holding their hands together.

***

"You may now kiss."

Ryu's eyes focused again, just in time to watch as Ken slowly lifted the white veil of the person facing him. The face of a stunningly beautiful woman was revealed, a woman with a look of joy and content in her eyes. Her blonde locks flowed down the sides of her head as Ken put his hands up to them, and gently drew her towards him in a tender kiss. Applause erupted and the two walked lively back down the aisle towards the white, ivy laced building in the back of the garden.

The two men to Ryu's right and the three women across from them followed them down the aisle and the crowd started to stand up and bustle about, a din of excited chattering intermixed with occasional sobs.

Ryu stood where he had been, watching the two figures disappear into the reception hall inside. Once they were gone from sight, he let out a ragged sigh and turned his vision oceanward, through the trees. The garden quickly cleared of people, and after only a few moments, Ryu was standing mostly alone in the shadows of the trees. The midday sun was beginning to glow with the yellows of afternoon, which reflected off the small bits of ocean he could see through the trees.

"Ryu?" someone said behind him. Breaking off his stare, Ryu turned to see Chun-Li standing about ten feet from him. "Come on inside, they're waiting for you!" she said, cocking her head towards the building and smiling with a friendly urgency.  
"Oh... alright," he said, his voice flat. He looked back towards the ocean, wishing he could be sitting at its shore.

Chun-Li looked at him with a concerned expression. "You alright?" she said after a long pause.

"Yeah," he replied, sighing. "I guess I will be."

She shrugged, and turned partially to walk away, hesitating in anticipation of Ryu following. Eventually he did, and they went inside, leaving the garden in a state of quiet solitude, bereft of the sound of the voices, the music, and the wind.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this ages ago, so I didn't do any new editing so I could preserve my younger self's voice.


End file.
